Deirdre McCloskey, a well-known economist once known as Donald, will speak at the University of ÃÛÌÇÖ±²¥ at Boulder on Friday, March 8, at 3:30 p.m. in the Eaton Humanities Building, room 1B50.
McCloskey, who is a professor of economics, English and history at the University of Illinois at Chicago, will discuss capitalism, globalization and the middle class during her lecture "Bourgeois Virtue and Globalization." She will be on campus March 7-8 as a guest of the World Affairs Athenaeum. The event is free and open to the public.
During her lecture McCloskey will explain why capitalism, globalization and the middle class are good for the world. An internationally known economist, historian and critic, McCloskey views capitalism and globalization as the hope for the world's poor.
Born Donald McCloskey in 1942, McCloskey was educated at Harvard and taught for 12 years at the University of Chicago and 19 years at the University of Iowa. In 1995 McCloskey completed her gender change and after years of surgery and hormone treatments, she successfully switched genders.
McCloskey has written 12 books including "Crossing: A Memoir," in which she describes her transition.
The Athenaeum also is sponsoring a student dinner with McCloskey on March 7 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. During the dinner she will speak about why she describes herself as a "postmodern, free-market, quantitative, rhetorical, Christian, gender crossing, Midwestern, European, female economist." The dinner is only open to ÃÛÌÇÖ±²¥-Boulder students, and space is limited so interested students should contact the Athenaeum fellows to make reservations.
McCloskey has received numerous fellowships and research grants, including the Guggenheim Fellowship in 1983 and the National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship in 1984.
The Athenaeum, a program in which students meet with world-renowned guests to discuss world affairs, is an offshoot of the ÃÛÌÇÖ±²¥-Boulder Conference on World Affairs held annually in April.
Past Athenaeum visitors to ÃÛÌÇÖ±²¥-Boulder include Gary Hart, Margot Adler, Dr. Patch Adams, Werner Herzog and Susan Faludi.
For more information about the public lecture call (303) 492-7252, or to make reservations for the dinner send e-mail to the Athenaeum fellows at cwaathen@colorado.edu.